Apparatus for separating and conveying sheet-like blanks

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for separating, conveying and if necessary handling sheet-like blanks stored in a pile at a station, in particular a labelling machine with a plurality of stations arranged one behind the other in the feed direction, in particular a label gumming device, a label box and a label transfer device and with at least one removal member mounted to rotate on a rotating support and moved past the stations during each revolution of the support, which removal member respectively comprises an outwardly curved support surface for the blank rolling on the respectively uppermost blank of the pile and if necessary on the other stations and as a drive for rotating about its own axis, a pinion meshing with a stationary sun wheel and a compensating gear unit connected to the pinion and able to be adjusted by a control member guided in a stationary cam, which compensating gear unit, depending on the coarse of the cam, accelerates or decelerates the rotation of the removal member for the purpose of adaptation to the shape and relative speed of the surfaces in contact of the removal member and at least of the blank and if necessary of the other stations, characterised in that provided as a compensating gear unit for the removal member is a coarse thread interconnecting its drive shaft and the pinion located thereon, the pinion mounted to rotate in a bearing connected to the control member being movable along the drive shaft depending on the coarse of the cam.

United States Patent [191 [111 3,928,120

Zodrow Dec. 23, 1975 APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING AND CONVEYING SHEET-LIKE BLANKS [5 7] ABSTRACT [75] Inventor: Rudolf Zodrow, Dusseldorf, Apparatus for SFParating, Conveying if 'y Germany handling sheet-like blanks stored in a pile at a station, in particular a labelling machine with a plurality of [73] Asslgnee: Jagenberg werke Dusseldorf stations arranged one behind the other in the feed di- Germany rection, in particular a label gumming device, a label [22 i 30, 197 box and a label transfer device and with at least one removal member mounted to rotate on a rotating sup- [21] Appl' 465,648 port and moved past the stations during each revolution of the support, which removal member respec- [30] F i A li i priority Data tively comprises an outwardly curvedsupport surface May 18 1973 Germany 2325244 for the blank rolling on the respectively uppermost blank of the pile and if necessary on the other stations and as a drive for rotating about its own axis, a pinion [52] U.S. Cl. 156/568, 156/571, 156/Dl2(;r.1/3303, meshing with a stationary sun wh-eel and a compensat [51 Int. (31. B65C 9/16- B65H 3/20 gear connected the be [58] Field of Search 1 56/567-571, adlusted by a member gulded a Summary 1 56/DIG 29 DIG 271/95 33 74/393 cam, which compensating gear unit, depending on the coarse of the cam, accelerates or decelerates the rota- [56] References Cited tion of the removal member for the purpose of adaptation to the shape and relative speed of the surfaces in UNITED STATES PATENTS contact of the removal member and at least of the 3,532,585 10/1970 Kronseder et a1. 156/568 blank and if necessary of the other tations, character- 3,537,934 11/1970 Munch 156/571 X ised in that provided as a compensating gear unit for g gl the removal member is a coarse thread interconnectu Inger ing its drive shaft and the pinion located thereon, the

pinion mounted to rotate in a bearing connected to the control member being movable along the drive shaft depending on the coarse of the cam.

Primary Examiner-Douglas J. Drummond Assistant ExaminerM. G. Wityshyn Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Burgess, Dinklage & Sprung 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures J t 1 I6 I \TT 1 I I t Q I I 9 l lllllll llllllll US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 1 of3 3,928,120

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 2 on 3,928,12

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet30f3 3,928,120

APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING AND CONVEYING SHEET-LIKE BLANKS label-gluing device, a label box and a label transfer u device and with at least one removal member mounted to rotate on a rotating support and moved past the stations during each revolution of the support, respectively comprising an outwardly curved support surface for the blank rolling on the respectively uppermost blank of the pile and if necessary on the other stations and as a drive for rotation about its own axis, a pinion meshing with a stationary sun wheel and a compensating gear connected to the pinion and able to be adjusted by a control member guided in a fixed cam, which compensating gear, depending on the coarse of the cam, accelerates or retards the rotation of the removal member for the purpose of adaptation to the shape and relative speed of the surfaces in contact of the removal member and at least of the blank and if necessary of the other stations.

In a known labelling machine of this type, the compensating gear is constructed as a differential gear unit. This gear train consists of two sets of gears. The first gear of the first set of gears meshes with the pinion and is mounted to rotate in the support. Likewise mounted in the support, coaxially with this gear, is a gear located on the shaft of the removal member. These two gears are connected to each other by the two other gears of the sets of gears non-rotatably mounted on a common shaft. This shaft with the gears is mounted to rotate at the free end of a rocker arm which swings about a shaft arranged coaxially -to the first gears. The pivoting is brought about by a control member guided by a roller in the cam. Depending on the swinging of the two second gears mounted on the rocker arm, about the common' axis of the first gears, the rotary movement transmitted by the entire gear train is retarded or accelerated in order to achieve the smallest possible relative movement between thesurface of the removal member and the respectively associated station, for example of the uppermost label.

With the known apparatus, it is a disadvantage that a relatively complicated gear unit is required for the compensating movement. In addition to this, the incorporation of a gear rocker arm with gear wheels mounted thereon is a disadvantage, because owing to the high speed of rotation of the support, considerable centrifugal forces oppose the adjusting movement of the rocker arm. Finally, the known apparatus does not make it possible to achieve satisfactory rolling of the support surfaceeither on the normally flat surface of the sheet-like blanks or on the normally cylindrical surfaces of the gumming device and transfer device, because the removal members are constructed to be cylindrical and are mounted centrally. With an optimum adaptation of the drive and adjustment of the compensating gear unit, a clear rolling movement may be achieved with a stationary flat sheet-like blank solely in the vicinity of the tangential contact of the sheet-like blank with the circular path of the removal member. The same is true for cylindrical stations.

It is the object of the invention to provide an apparatus for separating, conveying and if necessary handling sheet-like blanks, in particular a labelling machine, in which acceleration and retarding of the removal members may be achieved with another compensating gear unit which is constructionally more simple.

This object is fulfilled according to the invention in an apparatus of the afore-described type in that as a compensating gear unit for the removal member, a

coarse thread is provided interconnecting its drive shaft and the pinion located thereon, the pinion mounted to rotate in a bearing connected to the control member being able to move along the drive shaft depending on the coarse of the cam.

In contrast to the known labelling machine, with the apparatus according to the invention, the drive is produced by the sun wheel by way of the pinion direct to the drive shaft of the removal member. Owing to the coaxial mounting of the pinion with respect to the removal members, a very compact construction results. This is of the greatest for labelling machines, since one is attempting to locate as many removal members as possible on one support.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the cam is located on a cylindrical surface coaxial with respect to the axis of the support. Thus, the cam may be constructed as an external groove in which a pin, preferably a roller mounted on the pin, of the control member engages. With this construction which is likewise quite small, no centrifugal force opposes the adjusting force of the control member, even at high rotational speeds, since during adjustment the radial position of the individual parts of the compensating gear unit is not altered, but the adjustment takes place in a cylindrical plane coaxial to the axis of the support.

The rolling motion of the support surfaces on the surfaces of the individual stations may be improved according to an embodiment of the invention in that the support surface is a cylindrical segment which is mounted eccentrically and whose radius of curvature is less than the radius described by the stations. By controlled acceleration or retarding of removal members of this type, it may be achieved that on the sheet-like blank, which is generally flat, the contact line of the support surface describes a straight line and on the generally cylindrical gumming device and transfer device a line in the form of a circular arc corresponding to the curvature of the apparatus.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, a slight compensating movement for the required adaptation may be achieved in that the gumming device constructed as a gumming roller and the label transfer device constructed as a gripper cylinder rotate in the I same direction as the support and in the opposite direcplan view dia- The labelling machine illustrated in the drawing comprises, as a support, an upper plate 1 and lower circular plate 2, in which the drive shafts 3, 4, of removal members 6, 7, 8 are mounted to rotate. The support 1, 2 is driven by a drive which is not shown and rotates about the axis 9. Located on the lower part of each drive shaft 3, 4, 5 is a compensating gear unit 10, as illustrated in FIG. 2 for the removal member 6. The compensating gear unit as well as the lower plate 2 of the support 1, 2 are located in a stationary housing 11, which is closed at the top by the upper plate 1 of the support 1, 2. Since all the removal members 6, 7, 8 and compensating gear units 10 of the labelling machine have the same construction, it is sufficient for an understanding if these parts are described in detail with reference to the removal member 6 and compensating gear unit 10 shown in detail and in section in FIG. 2.

The drive shaft 3 is rigidly mounted in axial direction in the support 1, 2 by means of bearings l2, l3 and spring rings l4, l5, l6, l7, l8, l9 engaging in grooves and shoulders 20, 21. Located on the section of the drive shaft 3 between the upper and lower plates 1, 2 is a pinion 22 meshing with a stationary sun wheel 23 supported by the housing 11, which sun wheel is arranged coaxially with respect to the axis 9. The pinion 22 is non-rotatably connected to a bush 24 comprising an internal coarse thread 26 engaging with an external coarse thread on the drive shaft 3. The bush 24 is mounted to rotate in a bearing 27. It is prevented from axial displacement in the bearing 27 by a shoulder 28 and spring rings 29, 30, 3I engaging in grooves.

An arm 32 with a roller 33 is rigidly connected to the bearing 27 as a control member. The roller 33 is guided in a curved outer groove 34 of a cam member con nected in one piece to the sun wheel 23. The outer groove 34 is provided on a cylinder coaxial with respect to the axis 9.

The removal member 6 consists of a cylindrical seg ment comprising a support surface 35, which cylindrical segment is attached to a pin 37 arranged on an arm 36 eccentrically but with its axis parallel to the drive shaft 3.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the afore-described part of the labelling machine is located inside the circle 41 described by the three stations, namely the gumming cylinder 38, the label box 39 and the gripper cylinder 40 so that the support surfaces of the removal members 6, 7, 8 are exactly tangential to the stations in their central position illustrated in the Figure. The radius of curvature b of the support surfaces 35 is smaller than the afore-mentioned circle 41 with the radius 0. The axis of rotation of each removal member 6, 7, 8 is located on the plane of symmetry of the removal member 6, 7, 8 between the outer surface 35 and its centre of curvature. All the axes of rotation are located on a circle 42 concentric with respect to the axis 9. All the removal members 6, 7, 8 are located on the support 1, 2 with the same angular spacing. The stations 38, 39, are arranged at an appropriate angular position such that all the removal members 6, 7, 8 co-operate respectively with a station. In the central region, the label box 39 is tangential to the circle 41 described by the stations 38, 39, 40.

The labelling machine according to the invention operates in the following manner:

By means of the drive of the support 1, 2, the removal members 6 mounted to rotate in the support, together with their drive shafts 3, are moved one after the other in a circle 42 past the individual stations 38, 39, 40. They thus rotate about their own axes, in that their pinions 22 mesh with the stationary sun wheel 23 located on the housing 11. Insofar that the pinion 22 is not moved in axial direction on the drive shaft 3 by the compensating gear unit 10, the rotation of the removal members 6, 7, 8 about their own axes is constant. However, if an axial displacement of the pinion 22 on the drive shaft 3 is brought about owing to the guidance of the roller 33 in the groove 34, an additional rotary movement bringing about acceleration or deceleration is superimposed on the normal rotary movement. The toothing of the sun wheel 23 is sufficiently high to ensure an engagement between the sun wheel 23 and pinion 22 in the entire region of the axial displacement of the pinion 22 on the drive shaft 3.

The guidance of the cam 34 is selected in consideration of the shape and movement of the surfaces of the individual stations 38, 39, 40 and the curvature of the support surfaces 35 of the removal members 6, 7, 8 so that there is absolutely no relative movement between the surfaces in contact.

In FIG. 3, the rolling operation on the label box is illustrated in three different stages. It will be seen that the contact point of the support surface 35 moves on a straight line along the upper label. This is achieved by the eccentric mounting and by the curvature as well as the velocity control of the rolling movement. FIG. 4 shows three stages of the rolling operation on the gumming roller. It will be seen that during the rolling move ment, the gumming roller is partly surrounded by the support surface. This curved cam guidance of the contact point is brought about by another velocity control in contrast to the rolling movement on the label box, by the compensating gear unit 10. In contrast to the rolling movement on a flat surface, the acceleration or deceleration must be greater during the rolling movement on a curved surface, for example the gumming roller 38. Due to the fact that the gumming roller 38 and gripper cylinder 40 rotate in the same direction as the support 1, 2, but in the opposite direction to the removal members 6, 7, 8, the compensating movement may be kept small.

In an equivalent embodiment of the compensating gear unit 10, not illustrated in the Figures, with the pinion 22 connected to the drive shaft 3 by a coarse thread 25, 26, the pinion 22 may be connected to the sun wheel by helical teeth, then, in place of the coarse thread 25, 26 between the pinion 22 and the drive shaft 3, a coupling consisting of a groove and wedge having their axes parallel is provided, which facilitates an axial displacement of the pinion 22 on the drive shaft 3 without a relative rotation of these two parts 22, 3.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for treating a plurality of sheet-like blanks in a succession of stations, such as applying gum to a removal member mounted on a support, picking up a label from a pile with said removal member and delivering the label to another station, comprising first means for rotating said support on a support axis and second means for rotating said removal member about an axis spaced from and parallel to said support axis, a stationary sun gear, an annular pinion, a shaft coaxial with said pinion and having an axis located so that the pinion meshes with the sun gear, threads connecting the inside of said annular pinion with said shaft to cause them to rotate together, the removal member being operatively connected to said shaft so as to be rotated together therewith about the axis of said shaft due to engagement of said pinion with said sun gear as rotation of said support carries said removal member past the successive stations, a stationary cam extending past all the stations, a cam follower engaging said cam, said follower being operatively connected with said pinion so as to displace said pinion vertically in dependence on said cam configuration, vertical displacement of said pinion increasing or decreasing the rotational speed of said shaft and its removal member about the axis of said shaft due to the threaded connection between said pinion annulus and said shaft.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said stations include a rotating gumming roller for applying gum to said removal member, a label magazine and a rotating gripper cylinder for receiving a gummed label from said removal member, said gumming roller and 6 gripper cylinder rotating in the same direction as the support and in the opposite direction from the removal member.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the cam is located on a cylindrical surface coaxial with the axis of the support.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterised in that the cam is constructed as an external groove, in which the cam follower engages, said cam follower comprising a roller mounted on a pin.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that the removal member comprises a cylindrical segment for receiving said gum and saidlabel, which cylindrical segment is mounted eccentrically to said shaft, and the radius of curvature of said cylindrical segment is less than the radius described by the stations.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CETEICATE OF CORRECTIUN PATENT NO. 3,928,120 DATED December 23, 1975 INVENTOR(S) Rudolf Zodrow It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown betowi Column 2, line 22 After "greatest" insert --importance- Column 4, line 62 After "support axis" insert --=said second means comprising---- Signed and Sealed this of June 1976 first [SEAL] Arrest:

Rum c. MASON c. MARSHALL DANN 8 11 Commissioner uj'Parems and Trademarks 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR TREATING A PLURALITY OF SHEET-LIKE BLANKS IN A SUCCESSION OF STATIONS, SUCH AS APPLYING GUM TO A REMOVAL MEMBER MOUNTED ON A SUPPORT, PICKING UP A LABEL FROM A PILE WITH SAID REMOVAL MEMBER AND DELIVERING THE LABEL TO ANOTHER STATION, COMPRISING FIRST MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID SUPPORT ON A SUPPORT AXIS AND SECOND MEANS FOR ROTATING SAD REMOVAL MEMBER ABOUT AN AXIS SPACED FROM AND PARALLEL TO SAID SUPPORT AXIS, A STATIONARY SUN GEAR, AN ANNULAR PINION, A SHAFT COAXIAL WITH SAID PINION AND HAVING AN AXIS LOCATED SO THAT THE PINION MESHES WITH THE SUN GEAR, THREADS CONNECTING THE INSIDE OF SAID ANNULAR PINION WITH SAID SHAFT TO CAUSE THEM TO ROTATE TOGETHER, THE REMOVAL MEMBER BEING OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID SHATF SO AS TO BE ROTATED TOGETHER THEREWITH ABOUT THE AXIS
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said stations include a rotating gumming roller for applying gum to said removal member, a label magazine and a rotating gripper cylinder for receiving a gummed label from said removal member, said gumming roller and gripper cylinder rotating in the same direction as the support and in the opposite direction from the removal member.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the cam is located on a cylindrical surface coaxial with the axis of the support.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterised in that the cam is constructed as an external groove, in which the cam follower engages, said cam follower comprising a roller mounted on a pin.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that the removal member comprises a cylindrical segment for receiving said gum and said label, which cylindrical segment is mounted eccentrically to said shaft, and the radius of curvature of said cylindrical segment is less than the radius described by the stations. 